Hi everyone,

Welcome back.  How are you?  I'm just waiting for BDH and Little Buddha to finish writing today's to-do list.  My guess is that it's the usual errands.  However, with a current windchill of five degrees, I'm hoping we can put them off for just a little bit longer.  You know, until it reaches a balmier temperature that's closer to the mid-to-upper 20's.  That feels reasonable, right?

In the meantime, let's take a look at the headlines.  There's a fresh pot of coffee on the counter, so grab yourself a nice medium DD, because it's time to clear out some Tuesday Clutter.

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President Biden raised $42 million in January for his re-election campaign, and he currently has $130 million in cash on hand.  The weird thing is that he did it without selling garish $399 gold sneakers.  No word yet on Donald Trump's latest fundraising efforts, but Biden and the Democrats have had the upper hand in this area to this point.   Decent Americans find it easier to give money to a candidate who isn't facing multiple indictments, doesn't owe over $500 million in fines (so far), and doesn't have a crush on Vladimir Putin and other dictators.

President Biden is filling his campaign war chest.  (pic via apnews.com)

Alexei Navalny's family has reportedly been told by Russian authorities that his body will be held for two weeks for "chemical analysis."  The Russian government is clearly trying to hide their role in the opposition leader's death, while hoping that the world will eventually move on to other problems.  This is the "leadership" that Donald Trump admires so much.  People who speak out against Vladimir Putin often end up dead, and Trump thinks that's terrific.  The U.S. must fight against Putin and his allies, both foreign and domestic.

Donald Trump can't even bring himself to criticize Russia for Alexi Nalvani's death.  Instead, Trump issued a self-pitying statement that somehow tries to turn this murder into an argument for why he's being persecuted.  We prefer politicians who don't hate the United States.

Senator Ted Cruz is pushing his Republican colleagues to show "some backbone" and push for the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.  It's hysterical that the man who grovels at Donald Trump's feet, despite Trump's repeated attacks against his family, would be shameless enough to pretend he his spine is stronger than cooked pasta. 

Gizmodo.com claims closing the background apps on your iPhone doesn't do anything.  Apparently, it doesn't help your battery life or protect your privacy.  The article's author says that's all one big myth, because having apps open on your phone isn't the same as having a lot of windows open on your computer.  Maybe that's true.  However, it still feels disorganized to us to have 10 programs open, so we'll probably keep closing them, if only to maintain our sense of order.

A new study shows that women benefit more than men from the same amount of exercise.   Speaking of which, we really need to find some gym time this week, even if we have to work harder to get the same result.

Gang, we're a simple crew with simple tastes, so we're going to take a pass on pork-flavored coffee, if Starbucks ever brings it to the United States.  You're always welcome to send us a review at [email protected] if you get the chance to sample this...product, but that's going to be a solid no from us.  Granted, we did a ranking of Dunkin's flavored coffees a while back over on our Patreon site. It's one thing to be talking about adding chocolate, caramel, or even peppermint, but pork?  No, thank you.

Now, if any of you happen to win one of Red Lobster's "Endless Lobster" experiences, and you're able to bring a +1, we're there.  Of course, "endless" doesn't mean "endless," but we can still work with, "a maximum of twelve, 1 ¼ pound live Maine Lobsters, followed by Maine lobster tails or Caribbean lobster tails and...two side dishes)." 

The Boston Red Sox reportedly agreed to a deal with free agent closer Liam Hendriks.  It's said to be a two-year/$10 million contract with a mutual option for 2026.  The catch is that the three-time All-Star reliever had Tommy John surgery last August, so Sox fans won't see him in action until the second half of this season at the earliest.  It's hard to generate excitement for this move right now.  If Hendriks can eventually regain his previous form, then he may well be useful for the 2025 season.  However, for 2024, it's like waiting for Chris Sale to show up. 

In the meantime, we continue to wait for the Sox to trade current closer Kenley Jansen, since ownership has apparently already thrown in the towel on this season.

Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout said he has no interest in asking for a trade.  Hey, if he's comfortable where he is, more power to him, but he has to know at this point that the Angels have little chance of making a World Series run during the remainder of his career.  If he ever changes his mind, there would be a long line of actual contenders lined up for his services.

We were a little surprised to see the New England Patriots released defensive lineman Laurence Guy and safety Adrian Phillips yesterday.  The two players were with the Pats for seven and four years respectively, and they seemed to be solid performers.  It sounds like this was a salary cap move, according to the linked article.  We wish Guy and Phillips the best and are curious to see who head coach Jerod Mayo finds for replacements.

Over on the offensive side of the field:  Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans might become a free agent after failing to work out a contract extension with the team.  The Bucs could still slap a franchise tag on him, and our guess is that's what will likely happen.  However, if it doesn't, we would be happy to see the New England Patriots go after Evans.  He'd immediately be the #1 receiver here and could be a huge help to a rookie QB.  The problem is that the competition for his services would probably be stiff and mostly consist of teams who are playoff contenders now.  Well, that was a fun dream for two minutes.

As expected, we were emotional during last night's  wonderful NCIS tribute to the late David McCallum.  Fine, we may or may not have been misty-eyed before the opening credits.  The sad corgi alone was enough to make it dusty in here. 

The episode was a lovely look back at the character of Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard, and the sadness from the veteran cast members who knew him best was palpable.  The surprise cameo at the end was also a nice touch, although we wondered if that actor has had health problems recently.  It sounds like there may have been an issue at one point.  It's also possible we were just thrown because it's been years since we saw that person on TV, and they've simply gotten older.  Anyway, the episode immediately has to be considered one of the all-time best in the series' long history.  Cheers to everyone involved.

We're constantly trying to figure out what would be the best mix of streaming services for our interests, but somehow Paramount+ never makes it into the conversation.  Apart from five seasons of NCIS that we apparently can't find anywhere else, there's just not much of a pull to consider it.  Maybe that will eventually change if the rumored merger discussions between Paramount+ and NBC's Peacock ever lead to anything.  We'll see.  Still, it's disappointing that all of these platforms are basically just turning into the newer/messier version of cable systems.

Linkin Park released a teaser clip of an unreleased song called, "Friendly Fire" which features vocals from late frontman Chester Bennington.  The track was apparently completed before Bennington's death in 2017.  Is this a sign of new music to come from the band?

We are excited to hear that Wolfgang Van Halen has already started some early work on Mammoth WVH's third album.  The musician told our VIP audience at his Boston show last year that a new record wouldn't be out until 2025 at the earliest, due to the group's extensive touring schedule in 2024.  However, it's still fun to know that he's already starting to put some pieces together.  Can't wait to hear the final product.

Okay kids, that's going to do it for now.  Here's The Clash to close things out with a live version of, "Train in Vain (Stand by Me)" for today's, "Song of the Day."

Thanks for stopping by, folks.  It was great to see you, as always.  Enjoy the rest of your day, stay warm, and we'll catch up with you again soon.  Until next time, that's today's Clearing out the Clutter, and we are outta here.